So what: Brean Murray Corrat analyst Brian Skorney noted, in response to Roche's comments that it was experiencing unacceptable relapse rates for patients on multiple treatment combinations, that Idenix's IDX-184 may need to be used in regimens lasting longer than 12 weeks. This could be a significant setback in that it delays Idenix's clinical studies and makes it a far less attractive combination drug than its peers.

Now what: I'm personally not surprised by today's drop one bit. I've often compared the mergers in the hepatitis-C sector to tulip mania, and speculators who are betting on Idenix getting purchased may have just barked up the wrong tree. Bristol-Myers Squibb(NYSE: BMY) took a big gamble in paying $2.5 billion for Inhibitex's leading drug (which was just barely out of phase 1 trials), so I'm not too high on IDX-184's chances after today's analyst comments.

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Author

A Fool since 2010, and a graduate from UC San Diego with a B.A. in Economics, Sean specializes in the healthcare sector and investment planning. You'll often find him writing about Obamacare, marijuana, drug and device development, Social Security, taxes, retirement issues and general macroeconomic topics of interest. Follow @TMFUltraLong